May 24, 2016
BEIJING — Officials and exhibition organizers have pulled the plug on a giant art installation that was displayed on the facade of Hong Kong’s tallest building, just days after the artists revealed the meaning of a cryptic political message embedded in the artwork. In their statement late Sunday, they said that the artists had shown “disrespect” by not consulting the organizers in advance about changes to the work.
The nine-minute video, created by the artists Sampson Wong and Jason Lam, opens with the words “Our 60-Second Friendship Begins Now” and contains a series of numerical countdowns and phrases in Chinese and English that appeared to be apolitical. But on May 18, one day after the video was first displayed on the International Commerce Center, the artists said the final countdown in the video — a series of glowing nine-digit numbers — contained a subversive message.
The numbers indicated the number of seconds until July 1, 2047 — the date when the agreement guaranteeing the former British colony’s semiautonomous status for 50 years after its handover to Chinese rule is set to expire — effectively transforming the iconic building into a towering countdown clock for more than a minute every night.
By referring to 2047, the artists were tapping into growing fears among some residents about the increasing assertiveness of mainland China and the tightening restrictions on Hong Kong’s civil liberties. The work was shown for the first time on May 17, coinciding with the start of a three-day visit to Hong Kong by Zhang Dejiang, a member of the ruling Communist Party’s Politburo Standing Committee who oversees Hong Kong and Macau affairs.
It was a subtle message that might have gone unnoticed had the artists not issued an explanation. But officials and organizers are unhappy with the revelations.
In a joint statement issued late Sunday night, Ellen Pau, chairwoman of the film and media art group at the Hong Kong Arts Development Council, or H.K.A.D.C., which commissioned the artwork, and Caroline Ha Thuc, curator of the “Fifth Large-Scale Public Media Art Exhibition: Human Vibrations,” announced the removal of the artwork from the show. The video had been scheduled to be displayed on the International Commerce Center building every night until June 22.
“The disrespect demonstrated by Mr. Sampson Wong and Mr. Jason Lam against the original agreement and understanding made with the curator and H.K.A.D.C. is jeopardizing our profession and put at risk any future possibility to work further in the public space,” the statement read.
The statement said the artists had made changes to the work and had publicized these “without consulting the curator nor H.K.A.D.C.”
“We do believe in the freedom of artistic expression and do support our artists,” it added.
It was unclear on Monday whether the council would replace the canceled artwork with another animation. The council did not respond to emailed questions.
Mr. Wong had previously expressed concerns that the installation would be axed once the message became public.
“We don’t agree with the statement, the facts portrayed and the argument,” Mr. Wong said when reached for comment on Monday afternoon. “We did not change our artwork ‘Our 60-Second Friendship Begins Now.’ ”
Mr. Wong added that he and Mr. Lam would soon release a more comprehensive statement on their artwork’s cancellation.
